Blog Tour For Yesterday Series by Amanda Tru From May 30, 2013 to June 7, 2013 - Come Join Us!

Hello Everyone! I am extremely happy to announce that Amanda Tru will be touring the blogosphere to promote her most recent Christian romantic suspense series Yesterday. This is Amanda's first virtual book tour with I'm a Reader, Not a Writer. Amanda will be coming to a blog near you from May 30 to June 7, 2013! Come join us for all the fun!

Yesterday Series Blog Tour Information: 

Meet Amanda Tru

Although I loved my job as an elementary school teacher, I am now very blessed to be mommy to three adorable little boys and living my dream of being an author.

I have a vivid imagination and have always been easily entertained by the stories in my head. Fortunately, I also love to paint those pictures with words. I like writing a wide variety of genres, and my current book list includes everything from a Christian time travel/romance series, to an action-packed suspense, to a romance involving a woman who likes to anonymously play matchmaker.

Although I enjoy historical, Christian, paranormal, suspense, and everything in between, my books all have one thing in common – I love to surprise my readers with the unexpected. I currently have 7 books available for Kindle, Nook, and paperback.

My family and I live in a small Idaho town where the number of cows outnumbers the number of people.

Connect and Socialize with Amanda!

Blog * Google+ * Twitter * Facebook * Pinterest * Goodreads

About Yesterday:

Her yesterday was five years ago. What will her tomorrow bring?

When Hannah Kraeger saves a family injured in a car accident, she has no idea she has changed events in the past. Waking the next morning, Hannah discovers her yesterday was really five years ago.

Each trip Hannah takes through time changes the timeline and her own life. With help from Dr. Seth McAllister, Hannah must unravel the mystery of why she time travels and who she actually is before the strange ability costs her future, the man she loves, and even her life.

Yesterday is a thrilling Christian Romantic Suspense filled with unexpected twists, mystery, and romance.

Coming to Amazon soon!

About The Locket:

Hannah suddenly finds that she has time traveled once again, but this time is different. After helping save a woman's life, Hannah discovers that she has completely altered the timeline and thrown her very existence into jeopardy.

Facing life-threatening effects upon returning to her own time, Hannah is then given a death sentence: if she time travels again, she will die. Now, Hannah must solve the clues to her own identity and find a way to save her own life before she is once again sent spiraling through time.

Will her mother's locket hold the key to both her past and her future? Has she just found the love of her life only to lose him? Could God have a plan for Hannah amidst the chaos?

Coming to Amazon soon! 

Tour Giveaway of $25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends June 17, 2013.

Yesterday Series Blog Tour Schedule: 

Thursday, May 30th
Interview at I Am A Reader, Not A Writer
Review at Cami Checketts
Spotlight at Julie Antonovich Reece
Spotlight at My Devotional Thoughts

Friday, May 31st
Review at Why Not? Because I Said So!
Review at 3 Partners in Shopping
Spotlight at Fall Into Books
Interview at Peace From Pieces

Saturday, June 1st
Interview at Cuzinlogic
Spotlight at Cu's e-Book Giveaways
Spotlight at Every Free Chance Book Reviews
Spotlight at Promiscuous Diva

Monday, June 3rd
Review and Interview at Emeraldfire's Bookmark
Review at Vonnie's Reading Corner
Review at Bunny's Review
Spotlight at Sweeping Me

Tuesday, June 5th
Review at Bookworm Lisa
Spotlight at Diane Estrella at That's What I'm Here For...
Spotlight at Emma Michaels
Spotlight at Spellbindings
Interview at Sarah Ballance

Wednesday, June 6th
Spotlight at Pink Fluffy Hearts: Diary of a Coffee Addict
Review at Storeybook Reviews
Review at Ali's Books
Character Interview at Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews
Interview at Blkosiner Book Blog

Thursday, June 7th
Interview at Bookhounds
Review at Proud Book Nerd
Review at AlwaysjoArt
Interview at Taking Time For Mommy

May you read well and often

Our Library Visit For April

Hello Everyone! How are you on this fine Saturday? I'm doing just fine. :) So, for the second time this year my mom and I went to our local library and bought books at the library book sale. :) I suppose we each thought our separate TBR piles needed replenishing! We had promised ourselves that we wouldn't go overboard, but I think that that particular promise went out the window as soon as we both walked through the door! :) We came away with two boxes and three bags of books - not bad!!!

We hadn't been to the library since February of this year. We arrived at the library at about 12:00 P. M. and spent two hours there. We had a wonderful time together - as we always do!

Between us, we bought 27 hardcovers, 26 paperbacks and 4 oversized paperbacks, as well as 3 audiobooks and 4 movies. We spent a whopping $65 for a total of 60 books. A pretty good haul, if I do say so, myself. :)

At the moment, I'm reading an ebook Conquering Your Goliaths: A Parable of Five Stones by Kathryn Elizabeth Jones, which I am currently stalled in reading because my Kindle's battery overloaded and so I have been unable to use it since Monday night, April 15th. I'm also reading The Journals of Eleanor Druse: My Investigation of the Kingdom Hospital Incident by Eleanor Druse (the pen name of author Rick Dooling). I've been reading this book since Monday, April 8th.

May you read well and often

Blog Tour For Grim by Joseph Spencer From May 6, 2013 to June 28, 2013 - Come Join Us!

Hello Everyone! I am extremely happy to announce that Joseph Spencer will be touring the blogosphere to promote his most recent paranormal crime thriller Grim. This is Joseph's first virtual book tour with Pump up Your Book! Joseph will be coming to a blog near you from May 6, to June 28, 2013! Come join us for all the fun!

Grim Blog Tour Information:

Meet Joseph Spencer

As a boy, Joseph Spencer immersed himself in the deductive logic of Sherlock Holmes, the heroic crime fighting of Batman and Spider-Man, and a taste for the tragic with dramas from poets like Shakespeare and Homer.

Before Joseph took to spinning his own tales, he pursued a career in print sports journalism, graduating summa cum laude from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. He covered such events as NASCAR’s Subway 500 race in Martinsville, the NBA Draft Camp in Chicago, the Junior College World Series, and Minor League Baseball’s Midwest League All-Star Game during a ten-year career throughout the Midwest. Now, he works as an emergency telecommunications specialist with an Illinois police department. The combination of years of writing experience with a background working with law enforcement professionals gave rise to his writing aspirations.

Joseph was married Dr. Amy (Waggoner) Spencer, an accomplished veterinary doctor, on March 14, 2012. He received word his debut novel was accepted by his publisher, Damnation Books, the next day. Joseph and Amy look forward to their honeymoon in Paris in September 2012. Murphy, a 15-year-old orange tabby, is perhaps the most vocal member of the family. The Spencer family enjoys reading Charlaine Harris, George R.R. Martin, Mary Janice Davidson, and most paranormal stories. The Spencers also enjoy quoting movie lines from The Princess Bride, Rain Man, Bridesmaids, and Office Space.

His latest book is the paranormal crime thriller, Grim.

Visit his website at www.josephbspencer.com.

Connect and Socialize with Joseph!

TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

About Grim:

In a gritty town rife with organized crime, dirty cops and corrupt politicians, Detective Adam White stands alone as the people’s symbol of justice and hope for a brighter future. He’s cracked the biggest cases, and stood up to the crime families who’ve torn apart Prairieville with their power struggles. He’s gorgeous, humble and incorruptible; a crime fighter so pure that the locals nicknamed him the White Knight. 

What the people don’t know is their reluctant hero is cracking before their eyes. Ten years have passed since a pack of bank robbers gunned down his wife in the street. He’s relentlessly worked every case he could get his hands on since that night with the hopes of finding some link to her killer, but every lead always winds up a dead end. He made a vow on her death bed that he wouldn’t stop looking or move on with his life, personal or otherwise, until her killer was either dead or behind bars.

His obsession is starting to affect his work, including a new set of murders which are eerily similar to cold cases in which a gangland legend called The Reaper is the main suspect. A routine canvas of the area in which the bodies were found led Detective White to Heath Grim, a reclusive millionaire with grisly facial scars and a past which doesn’t quite add up. There’s something about his story which makes Detective White curious to dig deeper into his background.

Just as Detective White closes in on his killer, the mob hatches an elaborate scheme which could cost him everything. In his moment of need, an unlikely ally presents a way out of the plot against him and information on his wife’s killer. However, it leaves Prairieville’s paragon of justice with a moral dilemma. Can he abandon all of the heroic ideals upon which he’s based his life and become the type of man he’s hunted for so long to settle a score with his wife’s killer?

AMAZON | BARNES and NOBLE

Pump Up Your Book and Joseph Spencer are teaming up to give you a chance to win one of TWO $25 Starbucks Gift Cards!

Here’s how it works:

Each person will enter this giveaway by liking, following, subscribing and tweeting about this giveaway through the Rafflecopter form placed on blogs throughout the tour.

This promotion will run from May 6 – June 28. The winner will be chosen randomly by Rafflecopter, contacted by email and announced on June 29, 2013.

Each blogger who participates in the Grim virtual book tour is eligible to enter and win.

Visit each blog stop below to gain more entries as the Rafflecopter widget will be placed on each blog for the duration of the tour.

If you would like to participate, email Dorothy at thewriterslife(at)gmail.com. Last day to sign up is April 30. What a great way to not only win this fabulous prize, but to gain followers and comments too! Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!

Grim Virtual Book Publicity Tour Schedule

Monday, May 6 - Interview at Literarily Speaking
Tuesday, May 7 – Guest Blogging at Lori’s Reading Corner
Wednesday, May 8 – Guest Blogging at The Story Behind the Book
Thursday, May 9 – Book Review at Dr. Pepper Diva
Friday, May 10 – Interview at My Book Addiction and More
Monday, May 13 – Interview at Blogcritics
Tuesday, May 14 – Book Review at Sara’s Organized Chaos
Wednesday, May 15 – Interview at Books Books the Magical Fruit
Thursday, May 16 – Interview at The Writer’s Life
Friday, May 17 – Book Review at Miki’s Hope
Monday, May 20 – Book Review at Emeraldfire’s Bookmark
Tuesday, May 21 – Book Review at Inside BJ’s Head
Tuesday, May 21 – Interview at Emeraldfire’s Bookmark
Wednesday, May 22 – Book Review at The Paperback Pursuer
Thursday, May 23 – Interview at Examiner
Thursday, May 23 – Interview LIVE on Blog Talk Radio’s A Book and a Chat 6:30 p.m. eastern CALL INS WELCOME
Friday, May 24 – Book Trailer Reveal at Working for the Mandroid
Monday, May 27 – First Chapter Reveal at Offbeat Vagabond
Tuesday, May 28 – Book Trailer of the Week at Pump Up Your Book
Friday, May 31 – Guest Blogging at Waiting on Sunday to Drown
Monday, June 3 – Interview at Book Marketing Buzz
Tuesday, June 4 – Dreamcast Guest Post at Literarily Speaking
Wednesday, June 5 – Interview at The Book Connection
Thursday, June 6 – Interview at Authors & Readers Book Corner
Friday, June 7 – Book Review at Hezzie-D’s Books and Cooks
Monday, June 10 – Book Trailer Reveal at If Books Could Talk
Tuesday, June 11 – Book Review at Authors & Readers Book Corner
Wednesday, June 12 – Book Review & Book Giveaway at Socrate’s Book Reviews
Thursday, June 13 – Guest Blogging at The Writer’s Life
Thursday, June 13 – First Chapter Reveal at As the Pages Turn
Friday, June 14 – Book Review at Mary’s Cup of Tea
Monday, June 17 – Book Trailer Reveal at Beyond the Books
Tuesday, June 18 - Book Review at The Top Shelf
Wednesday, June 19 – Book Review at Offbeat Vagabond
Thursday, June 20 – Interview at The Dark Phantom
Friday, June 21 – Guest Blogging at Parenting 2.0
Monday, June 24 - Book Review at Jody’s Book Reviews
Thursday, June 27 – Interview at The Top Shelf
Friday, June 28 – Interview at Straight From the Author’s Mouth

May you read well and often

Steve O'Brien, Author of Dead Money, Chats About How Not to Plan a Series

Meet Steve O'Brien

Steve O'Brien is the author of four novels: Elijah's Coin, Bullet Work, Redemption Day, and Dead Money. Elijah's Coin has been added to the reading curriculum in multiple secondary schools throughout the US and has been incorporated in a university ethics course. The e-book version of Redemption Day was an Amazon.com Bestseller. Steve is a graduate of the University of Nebraska and George Washington University Law School. He lives in Washington, DC.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

You Can’t Stop It.
The stranger’s menacing, dismissive laughter echoed in attorney Dan Morgan’s head. In the heart of thoroughbred country--Churchill Downs--a major con was about to be pulled. Despite Dan’s efforts, his filly, Aly Dancer, was somehow part of the scheme.

You Can’t Stop It.
Dan’s dream as a thoroughbred owner was to run in a Grade I race—a televised stakes race. That opportunity had finally appeared. So far it had only resulted in threats, violence and death.

You Can’t Stop It.
What was the scam? Who was involved? Who could he turn to?
Post time was nearing.
The man’s sinister voice would not leave him.

You Can’t Stop It.

Coming to Amazon and Barnes and Noble soon!

I would like to welcome Steve O'Brien, lawyer and fiction author to Emeraldfire's Bookmark. Mr. O'Brien was kind enough to write a guest post for me and here it is below in his own words:

'How Not to Plan a Book Series'

by author Steve O'Brien

Sometimes I am asked how authors plan a book series? I honestly have no idea. I certainly didn't start out to write a series. What happened was I fell in love with my characters. At the end of Bullet Work, I just felt like I wasn't done with the characters. Between the books Bullet Work and Dead Money, I finished writing a political thriller called Redemption Day. Throughout the process, the characters from Bullet Work kept calling out to me, so I went back to it and Dead Money was born.

In the truest sense there is character arc in storytelling. When a series is involved, that arc has to continue over multiple books. I found continuing that character arc to be more fun than I ever would have imagined. I enjoy the evolution of character. As I was finishing the first draft of Dead Money I felt like there was more I could do. So (spoiler alert) I set the stage for a third installment. Now, grant you, I had no idea at the time what the third book was going to be about or what would happen, but I put an imminent threat from the antagonist at the end. Maybe this was just a way to motivate me to move on to a third book.

I felt like I wasn't done with the character Vasily Korsakov, the antagonist behind the scenes in Dead Money. He has so many layers as a bad guy, I couldn't resist the temptation to poke, prod and reveal more of his dark side.

Characters are like globs of clay, but totally unique. They have back stories and lives separate and apart from the roles they play in a novel. The writer gets to mold them, change them, motivate them and if done correctly, get them to jump off the page. The fun part of a series for me is figuring out what to do with them next.

Oddly enough, though, the glue to the series is not a person. It is a horse, Aly Dancer. There is nothing in the world quite like a precocious thoroughbred racehorse. The great ones move up in class to face better and better competition. The inevitable question is how good are they? How far can they go? It is a heady adventure for the owner and one I had the good fortune to be on. In this series I wanted to drive the story off that emotion, that feeling of constantly moving up in class, hoping that their best was the best of everyone. It is not unlike the NCAA basketball tournament. Sixty-four teams start, only one team ends their season with a victory. For thoroughbreds it is running through the ranks of maidens, then allowance company, then stakes races, then graded stakes races. Every owner has that dream and every win extends and heightens the drama.

In the end I decided that the Aly Dancer saga was more than just one book. Now there are two, soon to be three. Will there be a fourth? I have no idea.

- Steve O'Brien, author

- Visit my website:

www.elijahscoin.com

May you read well and often

Steve O'Brien - Dead Money

13. Dead Money by Steve O'Brien (2012)
Aly Dancer Mysteries Book 2
Length: 299 pages
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Started: 25 March 2013
Finished: 4 April 2013
Where did it come from? Many thanks to Rebecca at The Cadence Group for sending me a copy of this book to read.
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 21 February 2013
Why do I have it? I like contemporary mysteries and Steve O'Brien is a new author for me.

In the heart of thoroughbred country - Churchill Downs - a major con was about to be perpetrated. For prominent attorney Dan Morgan, Churchill Downs is a major stepping stone towards running in the famous Kentucky Derby. As a thoroughbred owner, Dan has dreams of running his filly, Aly Dancer, in a Grade One televised stakes race, such as Churchill Downs. He is flying high with excitement, until a sinister phone call tells him: "You can't stop it!"

However, when Dan gets a million dollar offer to sell Aly Dancer right before her showing at Churchill Downs, he begins to get suspicious. Then Aly Dancer's trainer, Jake, is found dead - on the same night he placed a desperate phone call to Dan, warning him not to accept the offer. Jake claims that he has unearthed a scam that involves Aly Dancer, and that he will expose it to racing officials.

Dan is in a quandary. What was the scam? Who was involved? Who could he turn to? Post time was nearing and the man's sinister threat won't leave Dan's thoughts: "You can't stop it!"

I really enjoyed this book! I have never actually read any contemporary mysteries involving horse racing or set in Churchill Downs. I give Dead Money by Steve O'Brien an A! and look forward to reading the next Aly Dancer Mystery sometime soon!

A! - (90-95%)

May you read well and often

Kathryn Meyer Griffith - Don't Look Back, Agnes and In This House

12. Don't Look Back, Agnes and In This House by Kathryn Meyer Griffith (2012)
Length: 62 pages
Genre: Horror
Started: 29 March 2013
Finished: 2 April 2013
Where did it come from? Many thanks to Kathryn Meyer Griffith for sending me a copy of this book to read.
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 14 July 2012
Why do I have it? I like horror and I have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

In these two short stories by Kathryn Meyer Griffith, the pull of the past and a person's memories can prove to be incredibly strong. In Don't Look Back, Agnes, Agnes Michaels, recently widowed and returning to care for her critically ill mother, comes back to her hometown twenty years after the gruesome murder and kidnapping of herself and three of her teenage friends. Agnes, as the sole survivor of this horrific event, has attempted to forget the summer when she lost her two best friends - Sophie Cunningham and Lawrence Nilson - and her first love, Tyler Summers and she barely escaped with her life.

Agnes has returned to her childhood home that her father built for her mother, a house that is surrounded by the woods where she and her three friends were held and terrorized for so many weeks that summer so long ago. She has returned, and the monster that still haunts Agnes' dreams has begun killing again - this time kidnapping Sophie's mother's 16-year-old granddaughter, Lottie. Agnes must finally overcome her fear and defeat the evil that has haunted her for twenty years - Lottie is depending on her.

In the second short story, In This House, Bernard and Althea have been married for fifty years, living and loving each other in the same house while the world has progressed around them. With the introduction of Deer Run, a lead smelting plant that has moved into their neighborhood, Bernard and Althea are now alone. Their neighbors have all moved away, the surrounding houses have been demolished, and their friends have all long since passed away. Althea's health is failing and Bernard has become her caretaker, even as he remembers Althea's beauty, his everlasting love for her, and all the good times they had when they were young. They will never leave their home, not until their lonely daughter, Jenny comes to visit them. Then Bernard and Althea can finally say goodbye and introduce Jenny to the man they know she's meant to be with.

I really did enjoy both these stories! Don't Look Back, Agnes had me crying about halfway through, because of some of the heart-felt, touching scenes. I give Don't Look Back, Agnes an A+! and In This House an A! I think that both grades average out to an A+!

A+! - (96-100%) 

May you read well and often

Reading Wrap-up For March at Emeraldfire's Bookmark

Hello everyone out there and I hope that you all had a terrific reading month for yourselves. I am known as Emeraldfire around the Internet and this is my new personal reading blog.

Anyway, I started out March with about two hundred unread books lying around the house and ended the month with...umm...uncountable amounts of books unread. All of the books that I acquired this month came from Amazon.

Let me try to break down the influx for you:

Changes to the TBR pile 

Read from my TBR pile (Yes! I am a reading machine :))

- Why She Left Us by David Dennis
- Trilogy: A Collection by Prudence MacGregor
- Oddities and Entities by Roland Allnach

Added to my TBR pile (oh well, you win some and you lose some! :))
- Mystic Wolves by Belinda Boring
- Elijah's Coin by Steve O'Brien
- Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft by Jody Gehrman
- A Gift For Wilber by K. R. Cox
- The Stone by K. R. Cox

Taken off my TBR pile and sent to a new home (Yay! Happy Dance! :))
- Why She Left Us by David Dennis
- Oddities and Entities by Roland Allnach

Well, there it is...the breakdown! All in all, a very good reading month for me, considering. Here's a further breakdown:

Books Read: 3

Pages Read: 811

Grade Range: A! 

So, there you go! The reading month that was March. I hope that you all had an equally good reading month; if not a little better. :) See you all next month! :)

May you read well and often